"I could have f**king killed myself"- Pierre Gasly disgusted after seeing a tractor on track during 2022 F1 Japanese GP

Pierre Gasly was livid over the team radio after seeing a tractor on track during the Safety Car period at the 2022 F1 Japanese GP.

Earlier, Carlos Sainz had aquaplaned and crashed out on the first lap, which brought out the Safety Car. Gasly, who was in the group behind Sainz, picked up debris from the latter's crash with a section of an advertisement board stuck on his front wing.

The Frenchman pitted to change his wing under Safety Car conditions. After rejoining the track, he crossed the site from the earlier incident when he suddenly saw the tractor to his left on the track. Heavy rain and low visibility made the situation even worse. Gasly erupted on team radio, saying:

"I could have f**king killed myself."

Pierre Gasly went on to mention the 2014 F1 Japanese GP and how Jules Bianchi lost his life in the race. The Frenchman said over the radio:

"What is this? What is this tractor on track?! I passed next to it. This unacceptable. Remember what has happened. Can't believe this."

In 2014, the Japanese GP had similar track conditions as today. There was heavy rainfall and visibility was poor. At the time, there was no halo on the car to protect drivers.

Adrian Sutil in his Sauber had spun out at the Dunlop curve and a recovery crane was handling the removal of his car. Jules Bianchi, in his Marussia, lost control of his car and crashed into the tractor at a high speed. Although he was airlifted to a hospital, he fell into a coma and died nine months later. It was the first death in F1 due to injuries sustained during a race since Ayrton Senna's horrific crash and death at Imola in 1994.

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Pierre Gasly announced as Fernando Alonso's replacement at Alpine

Pierre Gasly was announced as the new driver for Alpine from the 2023 F1 season yesterday. The Frenchman will be replacing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso after the Spanish driver moves to Aston Martin for the next two seasons. This will mark the first all-French team for the Enstone-based outfit with Gasly's new French teammate Esteban Ocon.

Pierre Gasly will have high hopes for the team after moving from AlphaTauri, a sister team to Red Bull. Gasly had previously had an opportunity to drive for Red Bull but a string of bad performances led to the driver being swapped by Alexander Albon. Following the announcement, there are only two more unconfirmed seats remaining on the 2023 grid and fans are waiting excitedly to see who bags them up.